Braves' Kris Medlen has ligament damage in pitching elbow

Back on Sunday, Braves starter Kris Medlen left a spring start against the Metswith what looked like a serious injury to his right arm. The immediate fears were that Medlen had blown out his elbow, and the team held its breath as he underwent an MRI exam. Tuesday, the results were revealed by Braves general manager Frank Wren: Medlen had suffered some damage to the ulnar collateral ligament, but the team doesn't know if he will have to undergo Tommy John surgery.

"The MRI does show some involvement with the ligament,” Wren said. “We don’t know the extent yet. He’s going to have continued test and he’s probably going to have a second opinion. So for us to put a complete diagnosis on it now would be premature."

Wren added that Medlen will be re-evaluated by Dr. James Andrews later in the week.

What complicates matters for Medlen is that he's already undergone Tommy John surgery, back in August 2010, as performed by Dr. Andrews. The procedure can make future MRI imaging of the elbow difficult to see clearly, hence Atlanta's decision to have Medlen undergo another evaluation.